Puppet golf ball projector



y 12, 1953 I H. ARENSON srgu. 2,638,348

PUPPET GOLF BALL PROJECTOR Filed 001',- ll. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

BY John F Wifherspoon. WaWM A TTORNE Y8.

Herberf Arenson and M y 1953 H. ARENSON ETAL 2,638,348

' PUPPET GOLF BALL PROJECTOR Filed Oct. 11, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m 3 Herbeff Arenson and By John F Vl/l'fher's'poon.

4L MW M ATTORNEYS- head, held in Patented May 12, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr.

RUBPE?! GOLF BALL PROJECTOR.

Herbert Arenson and John 'F. Wither-spoon, Kansas City, Mm, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Childlcre Company, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application October 11, 1951 Serial No. 250,846

The objects of the invention are to {provide an amusement toy puppet having a body, feet and desired position by the hand of an operator or player and a portion rotatable within limits on the body that is actuated to effect swinging movement of arms and club on the rotatable portion for striking a blow on a ball or other loose object in a manner simula ing the swing of a golfer; to provide such an amusement toy with a reciprocable memberhavin-g operating engagement with the rotatable portion and resilient means acting on the reciprocating member to more the rotatable member to its. limit of movement in one direction, said reciprocable member being adapted to be moved by an operator to swing the rotatable member to its limit of movement in the other direction; to provide an amusement toy siinulatinga golfer wherein the head and body member are relativelystationary and the portions simulating the shoulders, arms and golf club are rotatable between limits to simulate a golf swing and strike-a ball or the like; and to provide an amusement toy puppet simulating a golfer and animated to provide swinging movement for use in playing games, said toy being of sturdy construction to withstand abuse, yet economical to manufacture.

In aocomplishingthese and other objects of the present invention, we have" provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which a are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 1

i s i is a pe ive view of. a to puppet embodying thefeatures of the present invention an striking oiaa ball Eis- 2 is a l u ina se tionalview throu th p p on the ine 2-1, Fists.-

Fi 3 is a lo itu al. s ct onalview throu h,

is a plan view of the puppet. Withthe an in p ra ive 1105 1 1011for-efi ctin swmgins. movement of the club thereby.

; as at it to receive 1 Glaim. (o1. 213 s7- Fig, 6 is" a transverse sectional view through the puppet on the line 6-.-fi, Fig, 2.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates an amusement toy puppet simulating a golfer having a body portion 2 with" a reduced, downwardly extending portion 3 representing legs, with the lower end thereof shaped to simulate feet 4. A rigid member 5, preferably integral with the body 2, extends rearwardly from adjacent thev upper end of the body member, said rigid member terminating in a handgrip 6 adapted to begraspedby the hand of an operator. The bottom of the portion representing the feet 3 is preferably provided with flattened portions l'adapted to be placed on a flat surface such as a floor or table top, and the top 8 of the body member is cut on a plane at an angle to the bottom surfaces T, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to position a rotatable member 9 as later described.

An open topped cylindrical recess. 50 is arranged in the upper portion of the body member 2, and a spindle or the like Ii projects upwardly from the body member substantially axially of the recess id. in the structure illustrated, the spindle fliis a bolt which extends through a bore 82 perpendicular to the top face ll, the lower end of the. bore 1 2 being. counterbored the head M of saidv bolt. The shank of the bolt or spindle extends upwardly. and has its upper end threaded as at it, the threaded portion preferably terminating in spaced relation with the top surface 8 of the body memscrewed onthe threaded spindle, the recess [8 swinging p r i n shown. solid lines a the start of the swingingmovemsm withtheposi- I tion at the end. of the swinging movement shown in brokenlines. v

Fig. 5 is a transverse, sectional view through the puppet on. theline 5: 5, Fig.

being so shapedthat the nut ill is fixedtherein and held in the, head. against relative rotation.

Also the shank of the bolt is a tight fit in the bore 52, or is otherwise fixed to the body memher so that when the head it and the nut I8 therein are threaded on the shank or spindle to the end of the threaded portion, said head is v heldstationary relativeto the body.

The rotatable member 9 islocated between the top face ll of the body i; iber the lower face ll of the head, and is provided witlrabore 2%) through which the spindle ,tii extend to rotatably mount the rotatable member whichv simulates the shoulders of thepuppet. Therotatable member includesan outwardly. extending portion 2I- wl'iich simnlatesrthe arms of o wardly e he puppet,..said end ng portion preferably having a slotiltextending inwardly-iron the free end thereof substantially radially of the rotatable member. The slot is of such width to tightly receive a shaft 23 of a golf club simulating member 24, the shaft 23 being removable from the slot 22 whereby different shaped club members 24 may be utilized.

The club member 24 extends from the rotatable member substantially parallel to the plane of the top face 8 of the body member, and is of such length that when the bottom surfaces 1 are .placed on a fiat surface rotation of the rotatable member will swing the club member 24 in a path whereby the club head 25 barely clears the fiat surface on which the bottom surfaces 1 rest. In the structure illustrated, the rotatable member includes a pinion structure 26 fixed to the rotat- 'able member and extending downwardly therefrom into the recess l0, said pinion preferably including a cylindrical portion 21 which extends into the recess In in engagement with the upper portion of the walls thereof to provide a bearing area which cooperates with the bearing engagement of the bottom face 28 of the rotatable member with the top face 8 of the body member.

Limited rotary movement of the rotatable member 9 is effected by a reciprocable member 29, preferably in the form of a gear rack which has teeth 39 meshing with the teeth 3| of the pinion 26. Th gear rack is slidably mounted in a longitudinal groove 32 arranged in the body member 2 and rearwardly extending member thereon, said groove intersecting the recess I 6 and being of such length relative to the gear rack to permit reciprocation thereof for a distance sufficient for the desired limited rotation or swinging movement of the rotatabl member 9 and the golf club member thereon. The groove 32 preferably extends downwardly from the top of the body member and rigid member thereon and the open top of the groove is covered by a suitable closure 33 which is cemented or otherwise securedto the rearwardly extending rigid portion 5. Spaced bearing members 34 and 35 are arranged in the groove 32 in engagement with opposite faces of the rack to define the path of movement thereof.

The actuating member 36, preferably in the form of a U, has its upper ends suitably secured as at 31 to the gear rack 29, said actuating member extending downwardly through a slot 38 that extends from the groove 32 and opens from the bottom of the rigid member 5, the actuating member 36 being positioned to be engaged by a finger of the hand on the handgrip 6. The lower portion of the slot 38 is provided with a suitable liner 39 to define the path of the actuating member 36, the ends of the liner serving as stops to limit the extent of reciprocation of the gear rack 29. One of the legs of the actuating member 36 is preferably provided with a cushion member 40 sleeved thereon for engagement of the finger of the operator.

A resilient member 4| is arranged to act on the body member, actuating member and rack to urge the rack to on limit of its movement. In the illustrated structure the resilient member may be a coil spring or the like in the groove 32 and having one end engaging the end of the rack and the other end of the spring engaging the end 42 of the groove 32. With this arrangement the resilient member is compressed when the actuating member is moved rearwardly and then said spring urges the rack and rotatable members to their starting positions. Obviously the resilient member may be otherwise located in the figure in such a manner as to return the rotatable member 9 to its starting position.

In using a toy puppet constructed as described, the operator or player grasps the handgrip 6 with one finger engaging the cushion member 40 of the actuating member 36, which the resilient member 4| has urged forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2. The toy puppet is then placed on a fiat surface with the bottom faces I in engagement therewith a suitable distance from a ball or the like 43. The actuating member is preferably pulled slowly rearwardly, moving the rack 29 and through its engagement with the pinion 26 slowly rotating the rotatable member 9 to swing the golf club member 2 3 into a position substantially at the lower portion of the swing of said golf club member whereby proper alignment with the ball may be obtained. The pull on the actuating member is then released whereby the resilient member 4| moves same to the forward end of its path whereby the rotatable member 9 and the golf club member 24 are swung to their starting position as shown in solid lines in Fig. 4. The actuating member is then quickly drawn rearwardly to the other limit of its movement, thereby moving the rack 29 which efiects rotation of the pinion 26 and the rotatable member 9 to quickly swing the golf club member 24 whereby the head 25 thereon strikes the ball 43 and moves same through th air in a simulated golf shot, the rotatable member and golf club member swinging to the other limit of their movement as shown in the broken lines in Fig. 4. The actuating member 36 is then released whereby the resilient member 4| will return the operating structure to the startin position.

It is believed obvious that we have provided an amusement toy simulating a golfer that may be utilized in playing games or otherwise serving as a source of enjoyment.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A device of the character described comprising, a puppet figurine having a rigid body with a depending portion simulating legs and feet, the bottom surface of which is adapted to be placed on a flat surface, the top of the body being on a plane at an acute angle to said bottom surface, a rigid member integral with the body and extending rearwardly from the upper portion thereof substantially parallel with the plane of the top of the body, a handgrip on the rearmost portion of said rigid member, said body having a cylindrical recess in the top thereof, said body and rigid member having an open top groove substantially longitudinally thereof and communicating with the recess in the body, said rigid member having an elongated slot opening at the bottom thereof and communicating with said groove, a cover closing the open top of the groove, a spindle fixed in the body and projecting upwardly at the top of the body substantially axially of the cylindrical recess, a head fixed on the spindle above the body and spaced therefrom, a swinging member simulating shoulders of the puppet rotatably mounted on the spindle between the head and body, a radially extending portion simulating arms integral with the shoulder members, a golf club-like member removably mounted adjacent the end of the radially extending portion for movement therewith, said golf club-like member extending radially, a pinion fixed on the shoulder simulating member coaxial with the spindle and depending from said shoulder simulating member into the cylindrical 5 recess in the body, a rack reciprocabi in the longitudinal groove and having operating engagement with the pinion, means fixed to the rack and extending from the slot and actuatable by the finger of the operators hand grasping the handgrip for moving the rack and effecting rotary movement of the shoulder simulating portion and golf olub-like member to swing same to strike a ball or the like, resilient means on the body and acting on the actuating member to urge return movement of the rack and swinging member to their original position, and means limiting movement of the actuating member, rack and swinging member.

HERBERT ARENSON.

JOHN F. WI'II-IERSPOON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Stout Mar. 14, 1922 Renn Apr. 28, 1931 Houzenga Aug. 25, 1931 German Sept. 12, 1933 Munro June 2'7, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Dec. 3, 1931 

